Heney croft



(No Model.)

H. 8R0PT,J1-.

' 'POWER GONVERTBR.

No. 287,884.l s Patented ome. 8o, 1888.

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SFEIIFIGATION forming Tunai? inkom, t may concern/.3

Be itxknown'that I, HENRY Cnonndr., -a

citizen ofthe United States, residing at Springi field; in the county ofClarke and State of Uhio', have invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Power-Converters, of which the following isa full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making part of this specification. 1o My invention relates tothat class of powerconverters especially designed for wind-engines, forthe-purpose of converting the reciprocating motion of the pump-rod intorotary motion for driving machinery, the .general u I 5 principles ofconstruction of which will bel found in my prior Patents No. 253,515, ofFebruary 14, 1882, and No. 256,465, of. April 18, 1882, and the objectof my present invention is twofold: First, to provide a novel means,y 2ofor preventing the., jars and concussione inci.

dent to the'sudden starting and unequal speed of the wind-wheel, which Iaccomplish by employing spring-couplings to unite the divided end Of thepumpfrod, or of the pawl or clutch driving beams, or both, as Amay bedesired; second, to dispense Awith pawls' and ratchets, in which thereis always lost motion, and which make more or less noise, and tosubstitute a positive friction-grip which is noiseless and 3o veryeffective.

To this end the novelty consists, first, inthe combination,with one ormore ofthe divided reciprocating beams, of interposed spring-couplings,whereby said beams are rendered longi- 3 5 tudinally elastic; secondly,in the combination,

with a circular disk or wheel having peripheral anges on both sides, andkeyed or otherwise fastened to the driving-shaft, of a jointed vibratingclutch mechanism adapted tograsp 4o and firmly hold the flanges of thedisk or wheel on the upward stroke', and to become self-disengaged onthe downward; thirdly, in the de-- tails of construction andcombination. of the parts, all as will be herewith set forth and spe- In,the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation ofapower-converter containing my improvements. Fig. 2 is a front view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of one of thedriving-disks and clutch mechanism. Fig. 4is a similar detailed view tobetter illustrate'the actionof the gripping part of Letters *raient no.,287,634, dated october feo, ieee. nppnouuonnna .mae 1s, :lesa (ne mism.)

mechanism. Fig. 5` is an enlarged detailed l. view in frontelevati'on ofone of the springcouplings. f l" i 55 The same letters of reference areused to 1ne dicate likeparts in all lthe figures.` l

A represents any suitable frame-work, in

which is jonrnaled the shaft B, carrying the main driving-wheels C, andon eachend the 6.o

driving-disks D. These `disks and the driving-wheels are keyedorotherwise suitably fastened to the shaft; i E E are the beams, pivotedat their upper ends by suitableflinks tothe walking-beam F,

`which is actuated by the pump-rod ory other reciprocating prime moverG. The lower ends of the Vbeams E E are suitably pivoted to thetoggle-arm of the clutch or gripping mechanism. i l 1 7o The aboveparts, with-the exception 4offthe' clntchior gripping mechanismymay bevconstructedas shown in my patents abovereferred to, or in anyother-.suitable manner. a f Itis well known that windmills r-un 'at veryirregular speeds, sometimes starting rapidly and very suddenlywith-great force. Where` the connections are rigid, more or less damageis apt to result by reason of the resistance ofy fered. To prevent thisdamage and breakage 8o l employ the spring-couplings'sl'iown moreparticularly in Fig. 5, each ofwhich couplings, where more than one isused, is composedl oi the upper flanged socket,` a, and the lowerperforated cross-head, b. This lowercross-head is united to the flangesofthe socket a by meansof two or more guide-rods, c, upon which coiledsprings d are iitted, as shown. Upon the upper ends of these springs,and also surrounding the rods c, so as to play thereon, is a crosshead,e, to whichv is centrally attached, by a' head or nut, f, the pendentrod or -link g,' which passes down centrally between the rods e, throughthe lower cross-head, h, uponwhich the lower-ends of the springs rest,and has 95 at itslower end ashoulder,which,while playing freely throughthe cross-head b, bears against theu'nder sideof the cross-head h. Thelower extremity of the rod g is formed with any suitable coupling, e',by whichV it is bolted or pivoted to the lower end of the 'pump-rod, ordirectly to thel walking-beam, or, in case of the.' beams E, to'theirlower divisions, or directly to the toggle-arm of the pawl or 'clutchmech- IOO f' cross-heads e and h.

4ticular form of thespring-coupling described,

' pas in that particularit may be varied .infinite-1 ly; but I havedescribedwhat I consider the" best fornnfor the purpose..

anism, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 2.

Between the flanges ofthe socket a and the c'ross-heade aretension-adjusting' nuts j, upon 5 the rods c, by means of which theinitial tension or compression of the springs d may beregulated at will.If desired, the rod g maybe encompassed by a coiledspring between tleupper division of the pump-rod G, or of the beams E, or both, as seen inFigs.- 1 and 2. vThe lower extremityof the socket a is recessed, as atk, to permit the passage into it of the head 5 f of the ma g. now, itwint@ observen from the above construction that the .springs d willalways be compressed between the cross-heads e and h, no matter whetherthe resistancejis: entirely above or entirely below, or partly above andpartly below, and an effectual sprin'gcoupling is obtained which willreceive and;

' neutralize the shocks orjars caused by the? l sudden starting of thejwind-wheel; As before stated, but one of these spring-couplings may 5 beemployed, if `located upon thepumpmod, `or

if it is not'desired to have 'it upon the pump'- rod one maybe employedfor each of the beams E, or botli of the beams E andthe pump-rod -may.be provided with spring-couplings.

I kilo-not propose tov limit myself tothe parf .N0w, referring totheclutch .or gripping:

mechanism, (shownmo're particularly in Figs. l3 and 4,)'1 will thusvdescribe itijfIhe drivingdisks .D are provided on eachside withpei;ripheral flanges l, and embracing theselilanges on each side are linksH,- united by a bolt, m, where they straddle the periphery of thedrivingldisk. These links H have engaging-jaws .n c, so curved as tolit, the former over and the latter under the flanges Z, as seeni'nFigA. vrIhe outer ends of the links H are pivoted at p to thetoggle-lever I, whose outer end is in turn pivoted at '1' to the lowerend of the. beam E by" means of any suitable connecting-link. The end ofthe toggle I- -neXt vto the periphery of the driving-disks is curved, soas Vto""conform "tothe circle of thedriving-disk between thepcint'sisand 2. Above the point 1 the knuckle of the toggle-is extendedfor a purpose to' be i hereinafter described Toa pendent ear, 3,"uponthe under side of the head of the toggle I?, is 'adj ustably bolted acheckfshoe, t, of the shapc'shown.V By reference tov Fig. 2 it will Ibeseen that the adja cent faces of the ears and check t are oblique` orinclined, by means of which they cannot get out of adjustment by turningon their connecting-bolt without first loosening the nut of the. same,and thus a very secure and rigid lock is formed between them.A From thisconstrue' tion, andby reference to Fig. 4, it .Will be seen that uponeach upward stroke `of the toggle I c The socket d is boltedortotherw'ise fastened to the lower end 'of the.

the point l impinges upon the periphery of the diskD, and throws thepivotal pointp out from the periphery of the disk. This .throwing outfrom the pivot on a radial line causes the links H to be elevatedattheir rear ends,and causes thejaws n and o to grip the flanges l, theformerl on the upper side at; 3 and the latter on the lower side at 4LThis action will be readily understood by reference to the dotted linescontained in Fig. 4. In this way a most rigid and effective lock isformed between the tog- .gle I, links H, and disk D on every upwardstrokeof the beam' E. A s soon as this motion 'is reversed, as 4onth'edownstroke, the curved portion of the head of the toggle between .thepoints 1 and -2'againl conforms -to the periphery ofthe disk D andreleases the grip of the link H, so that theyvwithfthetoggle, can slideback .to re-engage the periphery and flanges o f the disk at a lowerpoint when the upstrokenls re;

peated.

` The employment of the cheekshoe t is a safeguard to prevent thelocking of thejaws 'n o in ease 'the reversal-of the upstroke isvery-quick .and sudden, in which event. the point 2 would, rby thecontact of the check-shoe with the pe- .riphery of the disk, beprevented from throw- -ing up the rear ends of the links H, as will'readily understood.

The object of the extension of thel head of the eamabovel the 'point-listo provide for Wear, for as the-head wears its concavity will- ...extendupward intotheextension of the metal, 'and as the jaws n o wear also therelation of 'the pivotalupoints will always be'maintained j' the samerelatively, even after wear, so that no adiustment Aof the parts isrequired to accommodate wear, except the adjustment of the .check-shoe,which can be readily enected. In l this way I secure a positivelocking-grip without lost motion and without noise, andas there are twoof these alternately acting clutch IOO mechanisms the revolutions ofthedriving.-

wheel are continuous.

` Having thusfullydescribed my invention, Y

I claiml. *Ina powereonverter, the combination, ywith a reciprocatingprime mover, .transverse relatively arranged substantially in the maunerandfor the purpose specified.

3. The' combination, with a circular driving diskor wheel provided withperipheral flanges,

- of gripping-links embracing both the upper IIO and under lsides ofsaid flanges and actuated by a `cam or toggle-leverpivoted to saidlinks, substantially as describe y f4. The combination, With circulardriving disk or Wheel provided with'peripheral anges,

of gripping-links provided with jaws embracing both the .upper 'and,under side 'of said flanges, and pivoted to a cam or toggle-leversuitably united to the actuating mechanism, substantially as described;

' 5. The combination, with a circular driving disk or wheel providedwith peripheralilanges, of Vgripping-links embracing both theupper andunder side of said anges, and a cam or toggle-lever pivoted tosaidplinks and adapted to engage with the periphery of said drivin;disk, provided on its under side with an a justable check-shoe,substantially as described. 6. In the clutch mechanism ofpower-converters, the cpmbination, with the grippinglinks H, adapted toengage Withl peripheral anges on the driving-disk, of thetoggle-lever I,whose head is provided Witha concavity to conform to the periphery ofthe driving-disk, substantially as described.

lsubstantially as described.

. verters, the combination,

`7. In a clutch mechanism of power-converters, vthe combination, withthegripping-links H, adapted to engage with the peripheral Y flanges on thedriving-disk, of the toggle-lever I, Whose head is provided with aconcavityto. conform to the periphery of the. driving-disk, and with anextension of the metal above said concavity, whereby Wear isaccommodated,

HENRY CROFT, JR.

Witnesses: GUs. A. MEYER, E. W, RECTOR. c

